Saturday, June 12, 2010

Growing up with a name like Jennifer Jackson has been entertaining, to say the least. We had five children in our family, so we were often called The Jackson Five. We lived on Jackson Street (I'm not making that up). I have a cousin named Michael Jackson and another named Andrew Jackson. Both true. I often run into myself at airports and public places. When I sign in at doctor's offices, I often have to distinguish myself as the Jennifer Jackson at such-and-such an address (as opposed to the five other Jennifer Jacksons in their system). So I was quite honestly a little perplexed that there wasn't a single Jennifer Jackson on this survey. Go ahead. Take this Famous Jacksons survey and see how many famous Jacksons you know. I did just fine, except for the sporting section.

Friday, June 11, 2010

The Boy Scout National Jamboree is fast approaching. There are going to be 40,000-50,000 Scouts and adults in attendance. My Troop has 11 Scouts and one adult heading down to Fort A. P. Hill in Virginia for this Centennial Jamboree. I can hardly wait. Of course, as with most amazing adventures, it is not cheap. The boys have been conducting fundraisers all year to help pay their way. I always sell my miniature Boy Scout Vintage Socks, but now that the deadline is here, I'm trying to come up with a few other options.

Since each Scout has to take 2 shirts with all the special patches sewn on, I have decided to sew on patches on one uniform for $50. This amount is right in line with what the tailors charge - and I'll hand sew them so that after the Jamboree, they can easily be converted back to a Troop shirt. I also sew the pockets so that they are still functional! Most tailors sew the patch through the pocket thereby rendering the pocket useless.

Patches sewn on include:

Council Shoulder Patch or "CSP"

Troop Number

Leadership Role (if applicable)

BSA emblem with or without 100th anniversary ring

2010 Centennial Jamboree patch

Rank

up to three knots (if applicable)

Interpreter strip (if applicable)

Patrol patch

OA flap (if applicable)

Arrow of Light (if applicable)

Recruiter patch (if applicable)

That's up to 15 patches for $50. It's definitely a bargain. Please let me know if you're interested before June 25th so I have time to ensure all uniforms are completed in a timely fashion.

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Sometimes the projects in your WIP/UFO pile just lose that loving feeling. I currently have five sweaters that are staring at me in that pile hoping against hope that I'll pick them up again and give them back that loving feeling. But unfortunately, a new hot little hussy caught my eye.

I found this Socrates alpaca with a twist sock yarn calling my name. I found some 40" long Turbo Addis in a size 1 and cast on 72 sts on each needle for an adaptation of Nancy Bush's Madder Ribbed Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks.

Monday, June 07, 2010

Wow! Since I last posted, my internet went down. At first I was very frustrated (which was a recurring feeling most of the weekend!), but then I realized I was meant to get that dreaded filing and cleaning up done that I had mostly neglected because of all the time lost on the computer (bloglines, ravelry, facebook, email, etc). So, it was a very busy, boring weekend for me. But I accomplished a great deal of work. Many of you might think it would have been the perfect time to focus on some forgotten knitting projects, but I decided to focus entirely on those dreaded tasks that I abhor.

Friday, June 04, 2010

Well, perhaps the baby bootie frenzy is coming to an end. But not quite yet. I have finished two more pairs of Christine's Stay-On Baby Booties using Rowan Purelife - in Medium Indigo and Natural.

Here are the Medium Indigo booties ready for a new baby boy. Below are the natural booties.

Some of you have asked if there is a baby who is the intended recipient for all this knitting. The answer is "No." I've simply run out of my baby bootie stash and I like to have them on hand for when the need arises. I recently had several friends have babies lately and my stash was depleted. Yes, I know they only take a day to knit, but you know I've never been good at knitting on demand, so I find it easier to have a variety ready and waiting to go. I think these two pairs bring the total to five pairs of baby booties finished this past week.

But since they're so much fun to knit, I might make a few more pairs before I let this frenzy settle down.

Thursday, June 03, 2010

Do you ever have an unexplained urge to knit lace? Does this urge attack you even if you're not a lace person? Well, if it's never happened to you before, it might once you buy some of these puppies.

Check out my new Signature circular knitting needles with that famous stiletto heel tip! Wow. Could you just swoon? I got mine at Knitting Central (the online store) - so hurry up and get yours today.

Yesterday, I also went to a new craft store that is cute as a bug's ear (which, by the way, is an expression I never really understood. I mean, has anyone actually ever seen a bug's ear? Is it cute?) It's Make & Mingle in Fairfield, CT and it's a wonderful store for the creative soul who likes to sew, quilt and dream up new wonderful creations. I purchased a few little gems while I was there.

Top center to the right: some sewing related gift tags, a recyclable notions bag in the theme of an airmail envelope, and some blank linen tea towels just perfect for embroidering with my own creation. I can hardly wait to get crafting!

Oddly enough, Wilma does not seemed moved by all these wonderful purchases.

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

I bought this book - Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen - at a friend's suggestion almost as soon as it came out four years ago and it's been sitting on my bedside table ever since. Perhaps because there wasn't a single book summary anywhere to be found on the jacket of the book to lure me into its intoxicating pages. That's too bad, because this week, I finally opened the book and started reading. It was so fascinating that I could scarcely put it down.

The narrator, Jacob Jankowski, a ninety or ninety-three year old man (he can no longer remember) relives the memories of his twenties spent as a veterinarian for the Benzini Bros traveling circus as the residents of the assisted living facility where he lives anxiously await the arrival of the traveling circus. This delightful historical novel will enchant and delight you and take you back to a very happy time and place.

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Since the Christine's Stay-On Baby Booties came out different colors, I decided to knit a third and see which it matched so at least I'd have a pair. When I finished the third, I looked at the remaining yarn and thought I just might be able to squeeze out a fourth - so I gave it a try.

I also received many comments about the baby booties and one reader - Ruthie - mentioned that she had difficulty with this pattern. Perhaps a pic-tutorial would help?

First step - and this is very important - use a set of 5 dpns. Magic Loop, two circs, or 4 dpns will not work well for this pattern. I'm not saying it's impossible, only that it won't work as well.

Using size 2 dpns, cast on 10 sts and knit 36 rows (18 ridges)

Using 3 more dpns, pick up 18 sts along the side of the bootie, 10 sts along the bottom, 18 sts along the other side. Total 56 sts

Purl 4 rounds

Knit 4 rounds (very hard to see here)

Purl 4 rounds

Knit 4 rounds (again, very hard to see here)

Purl 4 rounds

Using short rows, knit across the front 10 sts following the pattern and knitting the 10th st on the needle with the 1st stitch on the side needle. Purl across the front 10 sts following the pattern and purling the 10th sts on the needle with the 1st st on the opposite side needle. Repeat until 40 sts remain. End on a purl row.

Knit three rounds. TIP: When you knit the first round (40 sts) pick up a st in the gap between the front and the side of the bootie and k2tog to close the gap. Do the same thing on the gap when you come around to the beginning. This will close it up nicely.

Then knit the eyelet round: Knit 2, YO, K2Tog.

Knit 22 rounds for leg. Bind off loosely. Weave in loose ends.

Take a piece of 8.5 x 11 paper and fold it into quarters so it is approximately 2.75 inches long. Roll it up and insert it into the baby bootie to help it retain its shape.

Using a crochet hook, make a single chain rope approximately 12-14 inches (or use a ribbon). Lace this through the eyelet holes to finish your baby bootie.

Ta-Da! I now have four finished Baby Booties - and even with the differences in color due to the subtle variegation, I think I can put them together in such a way as to have two matching pairs.